


Life ... without anyone

by Lenaa412



Category: Original Work
Genre: Accident, Alone, Enemies, F/M, Family, Foster Family, Friendship, Gen, Heartbreak, Home, School, Secrets, Support, children's home, forster care, foster, frienemies, lonely, relationship, teen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-06
Updated: 2020-02-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:49:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22588168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lenaa412/pseuds/Lenaa412
Summary: Eloise and her family were just about to move houses, but the weather was not in their favour. Eloise's father was the lorry driver, but the lorry slid on the icy road and went into the truck in front of it. Then there was a chain reaction, because that truck slid on the icy road too, turned and went into the car in the other lane; in which was Eloise and her mother. Unfortunately, the truck hit the driving side of the car.The mother died in the ambulance car. The father made it to the hospital with her but died from his injuries a few hours later. Eloise fell into a coma. When she woke up, at first, she didn't remember anything. Not the accident, not that day. When she found out what happened, she didn't know what will happen to her. She didn't know how she would be without her parents, whom she loved so much.What would happen to an orphan girl who had no family to go to? There was one place, but she didn't even like the idea of it: the local children's home, where the similar fated children lived.But what would happen to her there? Would they accept her? Would she accept it? And what does life there hold for her? How could she live her life ... without anyone?
Kudos: 2





	1. The Girl

**Author's Note:**

> Main characters:   
> \- Eloise Lawson  
> \- Gerald Hall  
> \- David Sharw  
> \- Derek O’Brian  
> \- Emily Hevan  
> \- Marco San Diego  
> \- Nicole West  
> \- Paige Taylor  
> \- Stephanie Gill  
> \- Jackson Gill
> 
> Other characters:  
> \- Mrs Irene Williams (Nurse)  
> \- Mrs Margot Davis (Secretary, Geography, Art)  
> \- Mr Peter Sharman (Principal, history)  
> \- Mrs Agatha Light (Cook, Food Tech)  
> \- Mr Joseph Smith (Maths, IT)  
> \- Mrs Kim Edu (French, Literature)  
> \- Miss Perrie Wilson (Biology, Chemistry, Physics)  
> \- Elizabeth (Lizzie) Moss + Margaret (Maggie) Moss  
> \- Anthony Keen

**PROLOGUE**

Everything was so cold. As if I was in a fridge, but I know I was not in a refrigerator because there is a little lamp in there, which gives light. Or not, if it doesn’t work – but then it wouldn’t be cold either.

I might be outside. Outside is cold – and dark at night, but I knew I was not outside. I felt it.

Here is total and utter darkness.

Nothing else.

It’s cold and dark.

I felt my legs moving forward, as if I’m walking, but I don’t know where to. I can’t see or hear or smell anything – just felt the cold.

_Am I dead?_

I can’t be, because then there would be light before me. At least that’s what they say: that you see the light, like an end of a tunnel. But no. There is no such thing here.

Just cold and darkness.

My legs were still moving me forward, but now I stopped suddenly. I looked around if there was something before me that might block my way, but nothing. I turned, and I noticed a little dot of something in the distance to my left. I started to walk towards it.

_Is it that light at the end of the tunnel? Am I dead after all?_

The light started to grow; it was the size of my fist now. It grew and grew until it was big enough that I could step through it.

It’s the same here as it was before, just one difference: everything here was white. The cold stayed, but everything was so white, it hurt my eyes. No shadows, not even mine, only light. I looked around to see where it might come from, but it came from everywhere.

I finally felt the ground under my feet, but I could not see it. I only saw endless whiteness.

* * *

**1**

**THE GIRL**

“Nurse, look! She opened her eyes.” Gerald pointed to the girl who was just lying in bed for the past two days. She was brought in two days ago, and all she did was lay in that bed. They only knew she was alive because the machine she was tied to was beeping.

The nurse stepped to the girl – whose name the boy didn’t know yet – and fidgeted with something.

“What are you doing?” he asked curiously. Gerald had a naturally curious mind. If there was something that he found interesting, he wouldn’t stop until he got some answers.

“Oh, Gerald, go! Leave her be!” Irene, the nurse, pushed him aside gently then she turned back to what she was doing before.

“But what are you doing? Does this mean she will wake up? Whatever is her problem anyway? Will she be healthy again–?” he asked and wanted to ask more, but Irene cut in.

“Stop shouting!” she shushed him. Gerald did this, raise his voice when the words just poured out of him.

Pouting, he sat up on his bed. He has been in this hospital room for three days now. He needs to come back to the hospital often, but almost every time, he was sorted into a different room. Now he was in a room that had four beds, but at the moment only two were in use: his, then on his right was an empty one and to the left to him was the girl. On the last one was a woman who was now taken to a different room or went home. Gerald didn’t know.

The girl wouldn’t have had this room initially, but there were no other rooms where she could have been alone and this way she was not with smaller children or older women or men, but with someone closer to her age. Just by her looks, he thought she could be the same age as him.

Irene finished, then walked away from the girl’s bed. Gerald sat on his bed, swinging his legs. Before the nurse went out, she turned and looked at him. “Leave her be!” and she even pointed at him.

 _Irene could be a bit scary sometimes,_ Gerald thought. She has red hair, scary grey eyes, and she wasn’t a slim woman; but he just nodded, and as she disappeared, he looked at the girl. He found her very interesting, very pretty, even in these hospital settings.

Her hazelnut coloured hair on her white pillow was shining under the pale hospital lights, encircling her beautiful face, which had a few cuts on one side.

Her eyes – since they were open – were the colour of the sea, shining blue, looking into nothing. It might have seemed scary that a girl just laid there, eyes wide open, staring into nothing, but he found her pretty.

Her right hand lay beside her, her left, on the stomach, moving up and down, an indication she was breathing – if the beeping machine next to her wasn’t enough of reassurance of her being alive.

She was wearing that hospital gown which everyone wore when they first got here. Gerald was not wearing that anymore; he was wearing his own clothes from home. He wore a white shirt, which was a bit big for him, and faded turquoise joggers. He was barefooted as well.

He just realised that no one came to visit her. _It was what people did, no?_ Visited their loved ones in the hospital, sat by their beds day and night, brought flowers and stuffed animals–

Irene just came back, and Gerald pretended to find the floor tiles very interesting.

She turned to him, her hands on her hips. “Have you not got bored of sticking your nose into everything?”

“Not really.” He got off his bed and walked to the end of the girl’s because he noticed the red folder hanging at the foot of the bed, which contained the patient’s data, but before he could do anything, Irene yanked it out if his hands.

“Hey!”

“You have no right to go through this.” She shook the folder. “This is personal and none of your business!”

“But I only wanted to know her name.”

“She will tell you when she wakes up.” She placed the folder back to its original place. “And do not dare to do this again, understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He sat back up on his bed and fell back to lay on his back and looked at the ceiling. He listened to the springs in the mattress make the squeaking noise until they died away. There was a nightstand next to every bed, but only he had things on it. Gerald had a glass of water, a wristwatch and two books. He took the top one and started rereading it – for the third time.


	2. The Nothingness

After a while, in that white space, I heard voices. They sounded as if they were coming from underwater or from behind thick glass. I couldn’t understand what they were saying; they were nothing more than a quiet murmur.

Then I saw something more than whiteness; I thought I saw some colour in the distance. Not red or purple right away, but a pale colour: grey and light yellow. At this time, the voices became clearer, I could catch one or two syllabuses, but they did not stick.

Time passed, and I began to see clearer. I thought I saw walls and a door in front of me. I decided to turn my head, but I couldn’t. I could move my eyes, but I couldn’t see more.

Nothing and no one.

My eyes started to become dry, they stayed to get itchy, and I wanted to do something about it, but I couldn’t move my hands. As if they were tied down. I tried, and I tried, but I didn’t know if it worked, I couldn’t even see them.


	3. She’s Awake!

About an hour later, he put the book down and stood up to go out of the room, but before that, he looked at the girl. If he thought, there would not be a change, he was wrong. _Was it a good sign that her eyes were moving?_ He didn’t know what to do. Should he tell the nurse? But where is she? He walked out of the room, hoping he would run into Irene.

He did, sooner than he expected because just when he stepped out, she was walking past.

“Where are you headed to?” she asked, turning to him.

“Looking for you,” he said, and he wasn’t lying. He stepped back a few steps, and she followed him. “Is it good if her eyes are moving?” He pointed to the girl.

“Yes,” she replied sighing. “Is that why you were looking for me?”

“Actually, no,” he said. She just put her hands on her hips and said nothing. “What? I’m sick of being in that room all day!” He thought he was funny and tried to hide his smile, but Irene didn’t find it funny at all. She just sighed and shook her head.

“Of course, son. When you go somewhere, you will come back here, huh?” she asked sceptically. She had a point. “If you really want to walk around, I think the room is large enough for you to walk from there,” she pointed to the wall to his left, “to there,” she pointed to the wall opposite.

The boy just snorted and went back to his bed and lay on it, looking at the ceiling.

A few minutes later, he heard moans. Like as if someone was locked in somewhere and wanted to come out but couldn’t because all the openings were closed. Or as if someone was pushing something heavy. He sat up on his bed because he thought this was a sign that she was waking up. He saw Irene standing next to her bed, murmuring to the girl.

The girl started to blink, then a finger on her left hand moved. Then another, then her whole hand lifted. She began to roll her eyes from left to right, probably only just seeing where she really was and was spooked by it. He could only imagine how the girl must feel right now. The machine started to beep faster.

Irene tried to calm her down. The girl’s eyes were still moving about, then focused on Irene, and the beeps were slowing down on the machine now as she calmed down.

Gerald took his gaze off the girl and looked at the nurse, expecting to read something off her face, but no luck. The girl looked aside, though he thought she didn’t notice it; and she now was looking at Irene.

“Everything will be fine,” Irene said after a while. Gerald was sitting unusually quietly on his bed. This was a rare occasion.

Irene looked down, and Gerald follows the movement, and he saw that the girl was trying to move her hands. _Maybe she was trying to signal something?_

“What could she want?” he asked.

Irene turned around. “How would I know? But if you stay quiet, we might find out,” she said and turned back to the girl. “Can you hear me, dear?” she asked gently. The girl closed her eyes and ever so slowly nodded then opened her eyes again. Irene walked away but came right back with a soft ball. “Can you take this from me?” She held the ball up, so she could see it.

The girl looked at the ball, then to the nurse, then back to the ball as if asking, ‘Really?’, but she obeyed. Slowly, she lifted her hand, and in the meanwhile, Irene moved the ball back a bit, which the girl didn’t seem to notice, and even if she did, there was no sign of it on her face.

The girl reached for the ball and took it from her, but she held it so loosely that Gerald thought she was going to drop it.

“Can you give it a squeeze?” Irene gave the next task to her with a smile. The girl obeyed once again and squeezed the ball.

“Good,” Irene said. “Could you now put it in your other hand?” she asked. The girl just frowned as if she was concentrating very hard, but she tried. First, she lifted her other hand and moved it closer to the other which had the ball in it. She put her hands together, then moved the ball into her other hand.

“Good.” She repeated. “Can you give it back to me?” she asked and reached out to it. The girl, without any problems, though slowly, gave the woman the ball back. “Super,” Irene said and smiled. The girl tried to smile too but failed. This made Gerald smile.

Irene went and put the ball back. When she came back, she held up her index finger. “Follow it with your eyes, only with your eyes,” the woman said, then moved it to the right, then to the left, then right, then left again. “Now try turning your head too,” she said and repeated the same movement, but now a little slower. The girl followed it slowly, like just before. “All right. That’s enough for today. If you have any problems, just give me a shout.” She smiled, probably hoping to make the girl smile. She did show a half-smile and gave her a slight nod.

The girl turned her head as if looking around where she was, and when she turned Gerald’s way, she fixed her eyes on him, just noticing him. Gerald didn’t say anything; he didn’t know what to say. He hoped the girl wouldn’t freak out that he was present. When he noted that her eyes fixed on her, he took a breath in and sat up straighter. The girl’s eyes just widened, but she remained quiet. 


	4. A New Friend

As I turned my head to the side, I noticed that someone was sitting on the bed near me. What can I say; I was surprised. _How long has he been sitting there? And why is he there at all?_ I had so many questions, which I knew would stay unanswered for a while because I couldn’t say a word.

“Hi. I’m Gerald.” The boy introduced himself. He had long brown hair, which reached his eyes. His eyes were brown too, almost the same shade as his hair. He wore a white shirt and faded turquoise joggers. I thought he must be around my age.

“ _Hi!_ ” I wanted to say, but no sound came from my opened mouth. Instead, I nodded. It seemed that he understood because he smiled. It was so unpleasant that I couldn’t talk, but it didn’t seem to bother him.

“I would like to ask your name, but I know you wouldn’t tell me.” I opened my mouth to defend myself but remembered. He chuckled, then I realised he was just kidding.

“I would probably guess it anyway. Should I bother to guess?” Gerald asked.

“ _I’m not sure if you’d find my name out any time soon._ ” Since I didn’t want him to suffer, I shook my head.

“No? Why? You have a name that no one else in the world has?” he asked.

“ _Well, I never met a girl that had the same name as me, but there might be,”_ I wanted to say.

“My name is not usual, either. Its origin is English and German. I’m not sure what it means if it means anything, but my parents liked it. I like it too. I am curious about your name, though. A pretty girl like you must have an equally pretty name,” he said.

Though the words just poured out of him, I felt my cheeks blush after that statement. There was something about this boy that made me unable to be angry at him, however much he talked. I couldn’t say a word, and I started to find it very uncomfortable, but I did hope it was temporary.

Since I could move my head now, I saw my hands. My right arm was bandaged from the wrist to my elbow, but only the right, because the left just had smaller cuts on it, like papercuts, but they were visible. _If my arms looked like this, I’m not sure I want to know how my face looked. Or my hair..._

I couldn’t see what Gerald was doing now, but now I was busy rolling my hands into fists and letting them loose. I repeated this, multiple times until I was satisfied with the way and the speed I was doing it. I tried to write circles with my wrists, but I failed. My little ‘training’ was interrupted by the nurse coming back, pushing a small trolley in front of her.

Gerald sat up on his bed. “Great. I almost starved to death.”

“Then I should have waited a bit longer, I guess.” Irene joked.

“Ha-ha-ha. Irene, have they ever told you that you don’t have a good sense of humour?” he asked.

The woman ignored the question, but she was smiling.

“Here.” She gave the boy a tray, then turned to me and placed a tray in front of me too. “Do you need help?” she asked. I glanced at Gerald, then back to the woman, and I shook my head. I didn’t want help, not in front of him. That would be embarrassing. I can move my hands now, and opening my mouth isn’t a problem either. “All right.” After she helped me sit up, she left the room, and before I could have lifted the lid off my tray of food, I heard Gerald’s complaints about his food.

“ _What’s wrong?_ ” I turned to him. He looked at me and understood my silent question.

“I can’t believe they gave me _this_ again,” he said it, more like to himself, though he was looking my way. “I got this yesterday as well. For lunch _and_ for dinner too.” I did not see what was on his tray, but he really unhappy about it.

I still didn’t know what was on mine. I lifted the lid off and put it aside, then looked at my meal. There were potato and something else that looked like meat, but I wasn’t sure. There were a fork and a knife, the blunt, plastic-type. I poked the ‘meat’ with the fork. It had a strange shape. When the fork didn’t make a mark on it, and the cutlery didn’t cling to it either and neither did it jump on me, I started cutting it up.

The potato was merely cut to little squares, but they were so soft that as I tried to put it on the fork, they came apart. That was good because at least I knew that if I ate it, my teeth wouldn’t shatter.

Neither the meat – later I realised it was supposed to be turkey – nor the potato was that bad. There was a smaller bottle of water on the tray as well. After I finished with everything and put the plate aside, I looked to my right where Gerald was just sitting in his bed, reading. I glanced at his plate; he didn’t even touch it.

He turned his head to me, and I smiled softly. I wanted to ask why he hadn’t touched his food apart from that they gave the same to him previously, but I knew I couldn’t ask him yet, so I just pointed to his food.

“Ah,” he waved it off. He put his book in front of his face and lowered his voice. “It tastes more plastic than plastic itself.”

Irene just stepped in. “I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” she said. Gerald slid lower in his bed and lifted his book in front of his face so close that he couldn't read it now, but I guess he just wanted to hide behind it.

Irene walked up to me and took my now empty tray, smiling softly. She walked up to Gerald’s bed too, held up his plate and cleared her throat. He peeked out from behind the book just enough so that we could see his eyes.

“Yes?” Since the book was in front of his face, his voice was muffled.

“I do hope this stays in you,” she said, and after she put the tray on the trolley, she walked out. _What did she mean by ‘I do hope this stays in you’? Or do I want to know?_ Since lunch has gone, I didn’t know what to do.

I tried to turn to my side, but I couldn’t. I tried to lift my legs, but I failed. I got alarmed. _What if I could never move my legs again? And whatever had happened because of what I am here? And where is dad? And mum?_

My thoughts were interrupted by the machine next to me, starting to beep faster than I would have liked it to beep. I tried to calm down, then I turned my head towards Gerald. As I suspected, the book in his hands was lifted, and he was breathing faster too, I saw by his chest lifting faster than usual. He was looking at me, questioningly.

“Everything all right?” he asked. I just nodded, and I smiled softly. He smiled back too, and his gaze lingered on me for another couple of seconds before returning to his book.

I gave up trying to turn to my side; instead, I just turned my head to the side and closed my eyes. Because I couldn’t really do anything except for eating and sleeping, and I’m finished with one of them, therefore only sleeping was an option. So, I tried to force myself to sleep.


	5. A Long Night

When I suddenly woke up, the room was dark. There was barely any light, only some though the opaque glass of the door from the corridor lights, and of course, some from outside through the windows.

I didn’t know what made me wake up this suddenly, probably a nightmare, but I did know that this darkness scared me.

I looked to the side, expecting Gerald to be there, looking at me or reading. Since I didn’t know what time it was, I didn’t know what to expect. But none of it happened. Gerald was laying there, sleeping quietly. _Great!_ I thought. _Now, what do I do?_

As if on cue, the boy moved and turned to his other side, facing me. You sort of wake up when you turn in your sleep, and he did too, of course. More precisely, he opened his eyes and adjusted his blanket, then he turned. Only when he turned around did he notice that I’m looking at him.

“Can’t sleep?” he asked. I just shook my head. “Do you want me to stay up with you?” _How nice,_ I thought. _Since I can’t sleep, he would stay up with me._ I smiled. He sat up and adjusted his pillows behind his back. “Do you need anything?” I shook my head again.

“ _It’s enough that you are willing to stay up with me._ ” I wanted to add.

I wanted to ask what time it is, but I didn’t know how to mime it. I looked around to see if I might spot a clock on the wall and just when I didn’t, did it hit me.

I turned to the boy, lifted both my hands and with one, I patted my other wrist.

“Oh, one moment.” He turned to his nightstand and took his wristwatch from there. “It’s ... two in the morning. No, quarter past two.”

I looked at him surprised, then putting my hands together and putting them under my head, I wanted to ask if he is not tired.

“What?” I repeated the movement. “Oh! Am I sleepy?” I nodded. “Maybe a little.” _Argh! How do I tell him to go to sleep instead of staying up with me out of pity?_

My thoughts were racing, but I couldn’t think of a way to let him know that. I thought for so long that I gave up, and I hoped that he will fall asleep by himself. I looked at him, and it turned out I didn’t have to wait too long because my companion was fast asleep while sitting up.

I didn’t know what to do once again. I felt my arms fall asleep, so I moved them until they were fine again, I did what I did previously. I did this for a while until I heard voices from outside and I listened.

I didn’t understand what they were saying or who they were. A woman and a man were talking. I caught a syllable here and there though I didn’t see them. I was sure they would be standing near the door, though. I heard shoes’ heels’ sound on the floor then a shadow passing in front of the door. I thought that the other half went the other way because not another shadow had passed the door again.

I don’t know how much time had passed since I found out what time it was, but I imagined an hour or two. Since it was February, the sun rose late. My eyes started to weigh, and I think I fell asleep because the next time I opened my eyes, the room was filled with morning light. I heard voices and noted that Irene was in the room, talking to Gerald.

“Ah, good morning. How did you sleep?” She turned to me, and I nodded. “Good. I’ll be back in a moment then.” And she left the room.

I looked at Gerald if he knew something about the sudden departure of the nurse, but he said something else, “Sorry that I fell asleep on you last night.”

“ _No worries,”_ I tried to say, but only the ‘n’ sound left my mouth. He just looked at me, saying nothing, and I tried again.

“Nnno-worrr-ries.” I just about said it, and he smiled. Irene came back to the room, pushing that little trolley she did yesterday too. She gave us our trays, mine had a simple but tasty looking sandwich on it, but Gerald only had salami on his ... bread? It didn’t look like bread. I found that quite strange, but he didn’t seem to feel the same way. Without a grimace, he started eating it.

“I so love their breakfasts,” he said with a half-full mouth. I wasn’t sure if he was sarcastic or not.

“Don’t you worry, you will only have to bear it for two more days,” Irene replied. _What? Is he only staying two more days?_ Irene left the room once again, and I looked at the boy.

“Yes?” he asked. _Like as if I can tell you._ So, I just shook my head and turned back to my breakfast which tasted dryer than it looked.

***

After breakfast they let us be, then there was lunch, and about half-an-hour after that, Gerald needed to go somewhere. For about an hour, I was left alone. It felt like the longest hour, ever. I kept myself busy, though. I tried to move my legs again like I tried before. I could move my toes without a problem, but I couldn’t lift my legs up. _All right, I can move my body parts, but I cannot talk yet. Not normally anyway._ I thought of trying that out, speaking, but then Gerald stepped into the room, paler than the paint on the walls.

“It seems as though I am not going home in two days after all,” he said, but I don’t know if he did to me, or to himself. He dropped on his bed, facing upwards. He placed his hands on his chest and sighed heavily.

“Www-hy?” I asked as I could.

“What ‘why’? Why am I staying here?” He turned to me, and I nodded. “Because the allergy tests added one more thing to the list of things that I am allergic to.” I looked at him, questioningly. “Oh, yes. You might ask: why I am here. Well, because, as it turned out, I am allergic to everything. All right, not _everything_ , that would be awful. I am allergic to flour, eggs, almost every dairy product, half of the fruits and to preservatives. And it turned out I am allergic to cherry too since my lunch included it.” He shrugged. “That’s it. But there _are_ things I can eat.” He chuckled. I smiled too. _This boy can talk_ , I thought. “But you still don’t know why you are in here, do you? Or do you? Can you remember anything?” I kept shaking my head to answer his questions. “That’s too bad. You really don’t remember anything? Not even what happened before? Not even a tiny bit?” He showed with his fingers how small he meant by ‘a tiny bit’, and I thought. My latest memory I can recall was when I woke up here, in the hospital. _What was before that?_ I didn’t know.

I shook my head. “Nnno-thing.”

“That must be no good, but, hey, look on the bright side.” _There was a bright side?_ “Whatever memory you can recall now, has me in it, so there is no chance you will forget me anytime soon. I am unforgettable.” He put his hand on his chest.

“ _Yeah, unforgettable._ ” I wanted to say, but I just smiled, with that broad smile which you can’t wipe off your face for a while. I turned my head away and shook it as if I wanted to get it out of my head. _Well, I’m sure that won’t work. I will not forget this kid for a while, that’s for sure._


End file.
